Lessons From Laminate

It is my first day with laminate flooring, already I am learning how this will make a difference in my life. First and foremost, it is a lot easier to roll a wheelchair on laminate versus carpet. This was the intended effect and for this I am happy. This easier rolling is not without its concomitant downside, however. At the same time as it is substantially easier for me to mobilize myself, it is equally easy for my wheelchair to roll on its own, without motive force behind it. If I sit without my wheels locked, my chair will constantly seek to find the low spot on the floor. In a 40 year old building there are a few low spots.

I discovered how easy it is for my wheelchair to engage in exploration without me aboard as I got into bed last night. The process of getting into my bed involves lining my chair up with the M-rail on the bed then using the combination of the wheelchair arm and the M-rail to lift and transfer myself onto my bed. I then lift my feet onto the seat of the chair and use it as a way to steady my backwards wiggle into an approximation of my sleeping location. Once in place, I nudge the wheelchair out of the way so I can swing my legs over the edge of the bed, something necessary for midnight access to my jug.

What I discovered on doing this last night is that a nudge on laminate has a substantially superior effect as compared with a nudge on carpet. My wheelchair went, and went. Fortunately there are still some misplaced items in my bedroom, one of which stopped my wheelchair before it went all the way across the room. Note to self; don't nudge quite so hard.

There was the very pleasant discovery that when my feet hit the floor in the morning, as I arose from sleep, my toes were less likely to curl under my feet with laminate. They tend more to sliding frontwards instead of gripping, folding backwards in the process. It is the dreaded toe drop. Prior to laminate I would place my feel on the carpet and drag them slightly backwards to straighten my toes. This morning, no dragging.

After getting out of bed and rolling, easily as can be, into my living room, I noticed how much lighter the room looked in the morning sun. The laminate reflects the light; carpet absorbed the light. This has the impact of making the living room seem brighter and much more inviting. Unfortunately the laminate, in all its brightening glory, shows every bit of dust imaginable, and there is plenty of still still lingering from sanding the gyproc filler. On the plus side, that is for Rosa to deal with, assuming I can convince her that the dust is hers to manage. I think I can; it's just another lesson from laminate.